What's In A Name?
by KousukeAsazuki
Summary: [on hiatus] Eyes is invited to a party to celebrate prince Kiyotaka's birthday. An immediate attraction between the two is obstructed by a strange boy whose only goal seems to be the destruction of their newfound love. KiyotakaEyes, OCEyes, AU
1. That Which We Call A Boy

The title is obviously from the line out of Romeo and Juliet, "What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet...". Inspiration? Randomly and my sudden obsession with Kiyotaka, though it is a rekindled obsession, seeing as how I've gone through such a phase before. I'm sure you noticed when he appeared in nearly every one of my fics. So, without further delay, enjoy!

A/N: I know, this is a bit of an odd idea and yes, Eyes _will _be cross-dressing. You know you love it. Also, all ages, names, etc., will be completely fictional other than the obvious (Kiyotaka, Ayumu, Eyes, etc.). A note, I am making Eyes two years younger than he is portrayed in the anime, so he will be fifteen in the beginning of this fic. Those reasons will become evident later on.

Another A/N: . ...I just realized they cut off the summary, so here's the full thing: Eyes, the youngest of four brothers, is invited to a party to commemorate the heir to the throne's birthday. A pratical joke played by his siblings gets taken too far and soon he finds himself decieving the prince of his gender. What will happen when the prince realizes his true nature? AU, KiyotakaEyes. Rating will be changed in later chapters.

It had started out as perhaps a practical joke played by a few of the other boys, Eyes really wasn't sure anymore. The young teen had been invited to a party at the royal castle, though to be fair, everyone who was anyone had received notification of the main event. It was held to celebrate the eldest prince's birthday, Kiyotaka Narumi. From the rumors floating around, the heir to the throne was turning twenty-three this evening. Of course, his father had been the one to arrange it all, as Kiyotaka would have much preferred to have a quiet night to himself. To add to the horror of it all for the brunette, his father had announced (without consulting him first, of course) that the king-to-be would pick a wife from the crowd and they were to be wed that Sunday. The party was held the previous Tuesday, so Kiyotaka had that long to try and get out of the rushed marriage.

The silver-haired boy, though, wasn't quite concerned with marriage right now. In fact, Eyes wasn't paying attention to much else other than the snickering boys in front of him. One glance down at his wardrobe and his head snapped back up, "You can't be serious." He informed them, "I will not go looking like this."

"Why not?" one of the three wondered. He was the third oldest of four brothers, Eyes being the youngest. Next was Azel, who was standing off to the side, looking his little brother up and down, admiring his handy work. He was three years older than Eyes, eighteen, but acted as naive as a child. He, unlike the other three, had messy brown hair and golden-yellow eyes. The next, and the one who had made the comment, was only a year older than Azel. Setsuna had typical short blonde hair and blue eyes, but acted as immature as Azel was naive. His dirty jokes and crude personality grew tiresome for the other three brothers, but it didn't daunt him in the least. The last and eldest, also surprisingly most mature, was Faii. He, like Setsuna, had blonde hair and blue eyes, though his hair was trimmed neater and his attitude mirrored none of his younger siblings. Also, by far, the laziest of the four, and at times could act as a child, though criticized everyone else for doing so. Currently, he was smirking along with Set at his youngest brother.

"Because I'm in a dress?" Eyes suggested, narrowing his vibrant blue eyes at the three.

Azel, ever the child, sniffled and feigned hurt, "You don't like my design?" he pouted, giving Eyes a sad look.

Despite knowing what his elder was trying to pull, the silver-haired boy couldn't help but agree to the, in his opinion, adorable boy. A soft sigh escaped his lips and his head dropped in defeat, "Of course I do." He conceded. A small cheer was heard from the youngest-acting and snickers from the other two.

Azel stepped back to once more look over the dress he had deemed suitable for the angel-featured boy. It was styled to go right along with the era they were in, the 18th century. The petticoat was a light blue, almost white, color that billowed out, fitting his frame perfectly. The bodice was a slightly darker blue color with silver and lighter blue lace decorating it while the gown itself was a much deeper blue to accentuate his vibrant eyes. The sleeves cut off at the elbow and light silver silk continued down to his hands, making a bell shape around his wrists. His soft silver hair fell loosely around his face to complete the look.

"I look ridiculous." He muttered to himself.

"You look beautiful!" Azel exclaimed.

A small blush colored Eyes' cheeks as he shook his head, "I look no such thing, and I'll look silly without a date." He reminded them. It hadn't been required, but most there _would _be bringing dates.

"Oooooh! Maybe the prince will pick you to be his bride!" the elder boy spoke up again, causing Set and Faii to snicker.

"I don't look _that _much like a girl." Eyes attempted to defend himself. A small huff escaped his throat when all he got were skeptical stares.

"Hey, we'd be royalty." Set pointed out, "That'd be cool."

"Don't get your hopes up." Faii brought his dreams crashing down, "As soon as Eyes opens his mouth, Kiyotaka will go running."

"Hey." Said boy pouted, "That's mean."

"Even if he did pick you, he'd want to screw you sooner or later, and you _know _his mother will want grandchildren." As soon as he looks under that pretty little dress, he'll realize you're not a girl." The cruder one pointed out.

"I'm aware, I have no desire for him to pick me in any case." Eyes reminded them all, "I don't even know him."

"Doesn't mean you don't looooooove him." Set teased.

"Hush." The youngest chided, "Why in the world would I?"

"Because you think he's cute and you want to marry him and you want to have his children and yo-"

"Enough." Faii stopped the rambling boy, slightly annoyed.

The lightest-haired one shook his head, "That's preposterous, you realize." He commented, "There's no way in this world or any other that the prince will want me or that we'd end up together." With that, the discussion ended and a new one just as quickly began.

"Now remember your manners." Faii spoke up, glancing at Set, "I know being around your brothers, you may have forgotten them..." He trailed off as the second oldest returned his look with a glare.

Eyes sweatdropped and shook his head, "I haven't, don't worry." He assured the eldest.

"You should go, it'll start soon." Azel said, a bit excited. Due to the number of families that were being invited, and the limited space, it was decided only one member from each household would attend the party. Faii immediately counted himself out, as did Set, both claiming they weren't into formal things. Azel declined as well, saying he didn't like wearing suits and would feel out of place. That, of course, left the youngest who was volunteered unanimously by his elder siblings.

Eyes nodded shyly and blinked as Set hooked something around his neck. His gaze lowered to see that the older boy had placed a necklace on him. The chain was a delicate silver woven in an interesting pattern, leading down to a glistening blue stone that complimented his outfit and features. It sparkled in the sun, but instead of simply having the light peer through the strange rock and making it appear lighter than it was, it was reflected back off and the stone remained its natural blue state. Another blink and Eyes glanced up at his brother, tilting his head as if to ask where he had gotten such a treasure.

He received a simple chuckle in response and patted the soft, silver head, "Get going, now." He reminded the younger one. The boy nodded once again, placing a kiss on each of his siblings' cheeks before gracefully exiting the main hall of their home to slid into the back of the awaiting limo and speeding off toward the royal castle.

Well, what do you think? I don't believe this idea has been fully investigated before, but what do I know? Next chappy we'll see how Eyes fairs at the party and just what happens with him and Kiyotaka (because we know something will). I know it's a bit short, but all first chapters of mine are destined to be so. In any case, review!


	2. By Any Other Name

Whoo, next chapter of this fun little thing. I don't think this fic will be too lengthy, but then again I said HoTwB and Trapped were going to be oneshots, soooo...who knows? In any case, enjoy!

freya kurenai: Wh00t! I thought KiyotakaEyes would be a nice change of pace from, you know...my not updating. XD, and from all the other yaoi I do. I have done this couple before, but it's too cute not to do again. Thanks for reviewing!

Polaris18: Hm... not putting him in. Different set of brothers from another rp... sorry! Thanks for reviewing!

A/N: The song used in this chapter is "When You're Evil" by Voltaire. If you haven't heard this song _go to youtube and find it!_ It's the best song in the world. I've seen a great video starring Kadaj from FF: AC and this song, if that's your cup of tea, and also a couple of fma amvs with it.

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A quick rap on Kiyotaka's door alerted him that someone wanted to talk to him. Unfortunately for the prince, this seemed to be a rather common custom between people that he didn't particularly enjoy being a part of. Sighing slightly as the knock came again, he opened an eye to stare at the door, "What?" he demanded as a way of greeting.

The door swung open and a messy brown head of hair snuck its way in through the crack. Ayumu looked to his older brother and tilted his head, "You don't have to be so mean." He said, a small pout ready to form on his lips.

"I don't _have _to do anything." Kiyotaka countered, not in the mood for the teen, "What do you want?"

"Mother said that you need to get down to the main hall and be ready to greet the guests." The younger Narumi recited the order, "They'll be here soon."

Another sigh escaped the birthday boy's lips, "Whatever." He muttered, pushing himself into a sitting position, his hazel eyes closing in annoyance at the upcoming event.

"Don't want to deal with people you don't even know talking at you and wanting you to respond for hours?" the smaller boy asked, a bit hypothetically since the answer was obvious.

"No, I don't want to have to pick one of those high-priority, whiney, helpless, pathetic little girls to marry." Kiyotaka corrected him.

The other boy turned this response over in his head for a moment before responding, "Fake sick?"

An eyebrow quirked at the suggestion. Though, Kiyotaka was wondering if he _was _really sick for considering taking it. Shaking his head, the taller one stood, "No." With that he glanced at the door before sighing once more and exiting through it. Ayumu followed shortly after, trailing behind him as he made his way through a maze of halls until finally they reach a large set of carpeted stairs leading down to a floor below.

The archway that made up the entrance to the large castle led into a lush, decorated interior with seating room for plenty. A door off to the side led into an even larger room used for balls and dancing for other occasions, such as birthdays. Opposite that door sat another to the left of the entrance and back a bit, leading to a high-ceilinged dining room with a long wooden table and seats for the whole town if need be. In the back, behind the stairs was yet another door heading into a spacious kitchen where hired chefs, or even sometimes the brothers, would make meals behind the diners' wildest imaginations. Going back up the stairs, one would encounter a series of hallways, branching off to the many rooms of the castle. Mostly guest rooms, but some larger ones for the family members' specific interests. A room sitting close to the brothers' rooms held a grand piano, identical to the one found in the ballroom. Venturing to the right of the stairs, a short trip would bring you to a set of thick wooden doors, designed to block out much sound. Behind them laid perhaps the largest library in the country, complete with almost any book you could hope to find. If anything, the royal castle was well stocked with entertainment for guests and residents alike.

Now, however, Kiyotaka was far from entertained. Quite the contrary, he was rather annoyed with the way things had panned out. It had only been a mere two days before the announcement of the event that he himself had been informed that he must choose a wife of the women that would attend. Of course, his parents made sure to invite only the richest, snobbiest girls for him to pick from. Oh yes, this was going to be fun.

The large grandfather clock set against the wall at the top of the stairs chimed, signaling that it was now six o' clock-- the start of the party. Moments later, hundreds of frilly dresses and well-groomed hair filled the main hall, most escorted by an equally well-dressed and mannered man. A fake, yet quite convincingly charming, smile was plastered onto Kiyotaka's face as each of the guests came up to him to wish him a happy birthday, ask him how he was, introduce themselves at some point in the conversation, and basically annoy the hell out of him. Everything was going according to plan and the Narumi parents were watching happily as their son pretended to be interested in something a pretty girl in a light pink dress with white lace and trim was ranting about. Kiyotaka could have sworn that the girl lapped herself in speaking and jumbled a few words, saying one before the other, but continued to smile and nod, offering a few words of encouragement such as 'really' and 'is that so?' while occasionally gazing around to scour out a less annoying woman, or perhaps even his brother to save him.

The relief he found came in neither form of a woman nor the younger brother. A man that looked well into his thirties, whom he had known since he was a young boy came up to him, tilting his head to the side as a small smirk covered his lips at the brunette's annoyed expression. His shoulder-length dirty blonde hair fell loosely, his bangs hiding his eyes and ending right above the tip of his nose. The rest of his hair layered down and came to rest right above his shoulders, the ends just brushing the top of his tan suit, complimented with an olive green tie and white shirt.

He sauntered up to Kiyotaka, hands resting in his pockets and tilted his head once more, his hair moving slightly with the angle of his head, revealing a single golden eye, "Having fun, birthday boy?" he asked in a slightly mocking, yet calm voice.

Hazel eyes rolled and the man of the night glanced back to the chattering girl, who happened to still be talking up a storm, not even noticing that he was no longer paying attention or that the other man had arrived. Sighing in desperation, Kiyotaka looked back to the newcomer, "It's a blast." He replied, dryly.

The man, known best as Kai, chuckled slightly and patted the brunette on the head, "Look at the bright side, it's only one night." Just as that bit of information started to lighten the younger one's mood a tad, Kai continued, "In which you'll have to choose a wife, who you'll be stuck with for the rest of your life."

Another sigh found its way through his lips at the thought of marriage. Kiyotaka wasn't one for commitment, not because he was afraid of it, but because he couldn't picture himself being with anyone for the rest of his life. In a nut shell, he had yet to find anyone he could stand to be around for more than ten minutes. At that point in time, a commotion started up as many of the guests diverted their attention to the entrance where two boys stood. A soft groan arose from Kiyotaka's throat at the sight and Kai simply chuckled to himself.

The first boy looked to be about eighteen, and was rather skinny and fragile looking if you didn't know his personality. He had wavy red hair cut to his jawline and orange eyes that looked more like burnt orange as they were so dark a shade they were nearly black. He was dressed in a plain black suit with blood red pin stripes, a matching crimson shirt and black tie. Next to him was another peculiar boy with equally odd looks. His hair was a reddish color as well, but a darker, blood red color. It fell down past his shoulders in a slight wave and a few bangs hung down in his steel grey eyes. His suit matched his hair quite well, being a blood red color finished off with a matching shirt and tie as well as a crimson top hat and black cane. The second boy looked to be about a year older and had his arm linked with the first, a knife held carelessly in the hand opposite the one holding his cane.

A quick glance was shot to Kiyotaka from the younger one before the elder whispered in his ear. A small nod agreed to whatever the taller boy had suggested and they disappeared into the crowd. At this point, Kai looked back to the brunette, "Belial still avoiding and hating you?" he wondered, meaning the younger of the pair that had just entered, though the answer should have been obvious by the reaction of the boy now known as Belial.

A small shake of his head and Kiyotaka nodded in confirmation, "Yes, he loves and hates me at the same time."

"But doesn't he only hate you because he loves you?" came the next question, "You are forcing him to do such."

The younger one shrugged, "So?" he asked, as if it were completely normal and acceptable to force someone to love you, no matter the reason.

Kai was the one to sigh this time at his young friend's actions while he turned his attention to the entrance of the castle once more. An eyebrow shot up at the one who entered, "Who's that?" he wondered.

Hazel eyes darted to the one in question as Eyes walked through the arch. Kiyotaka mimicked the motion as he looked the boy up and down, "I'm not sure." He confessed, having never seen the girl, as far as he knew, before.

"Go ask." Kai suggested, "She doesn't seem quite as annoying as the rest." Though, it was rather impossible to make such a claim based on their observation of the girl thus far. She had just arrived and hadn't had the chance to approach Kiyotaka as of yet. Though, the latter did notice the unsure way this strange girl was glancing around, as if uncertain if she should be there, or perhaps just out of place in such a formal setting. Little did Kiyotaka know she was uncomfortable for an entirely different reason.

Just as the elder Narumi was about to approach Eyes, a _ting, ting, ting_ rang out and every head in the hall turned to the stairs where Kiyotaka's parents, a.k.a. the king and queen, were standing in all their royal glory. The guests immediately bent into a bow at their presence, as most did when first meeting Kiyotaka and Ayumu. The elder listened as his mother welcomed the guests formally, emphasized her gratitude for them coming, and turning to her husband who proceeded to do the same then motioned to the ballroom. He added that dinner would be served after a while and invited the guests to enjoy the refreshments they had set up in the mean time-- a table lined with wine, water, fruits, meats, and cheeses located on the far wall of the ballroom near the tables in the back. With that said, the couple ushered their guests and sons into said room.

Kiyotaka looked up to scan the area Eyes had been in, but found it filled with other girls and guys, the mysterious silver-haired angel gone from his sight. He glanced around the packed room, but made no real effort to search for her (just sticking with 'her' while addressing Eyes for now because it would get too confusing going back and forth) lest he seemed actually interested in someone-- he didn't need to give his mother more motivation. He followed Kai into the ballroom as a waltz started up, each girl pairing up with the guy she came with or if she came solo, a random guy. A short girl in a dark purple dress with curly dark brown hair held in pig tails by matching purple ribbons tied into bows and dark eyes approached Kiyotaka, smiling too innocently and held out her hand, silently asking for a dance. Conceding with his destiny to be mobbed by unwanted girls, the taller man took her hand in his and led her onto the dance floor.

Several songs passed and Kiyotaka had seen hide nor hair of Eyes. He had begun to think that perhaps she had just gone home, finding no interest in the party. The current song ended and the new girl he had been dancing with curtseyed and blushed as he kissed her hand, bowing and offering a small smile that she could easily believe was just for her, though he gave out a thousand a minute. Her face as red as a tomato, she smiled and ran off to squeal to her friends about how charming and gentleman-like the prince had been. Just as yet another girl in the endless slew was approaching him to ask for her own dance, the lighting failed and the room became pitch black. A few of the girls, including the one next to Kiyotaka, screamed in a deafeningly high pitched voice. Just to add to the annoyance, the girl basically latched herself onto him, perhaps feigning terror to get closer to the mysterious boy. A moment later a single spot light came on, shining down into the center of the room where the two boys from earlier, Belial and his companion, were standing, the elder with a slight smirk on his face.

When he spoke his voice was as fluid as his movements and the words that came out as deadly as the knife he spun in his hand. But they weren't just simple words; in fact, he was singing an eerily monotonous yet haunting tune.

" When the Devil is too busy

And Death's a bit too much

They call on me by name you see,

For my special touch.

To the Gentlemen I'm Miss Fortune

To the Ladies I'm Sir Prize

But call me by any name

Any way it's all the same"

He glanced to his side, where Belial chuckled lightly and shrugged, continuing the song in a cheery voice.

"I'm the fly in your soup

I'm the pebble in your shoe

I'm the pea beneath your bed

I'm a bump on every head

I'm the peel on which you slip

I'm a pin in every hip

I'm the thorn in your side

Makes you wriggle and writhe"

The elder wrapped his arm around Belial's shoulders as the latter leaned into his partner, their voices joining together for the chorus.

"And it's so easy when you're evil

This is the life, you see

The Devil tips his hat to me

I do it all because I'm evil

And I do it all for free

Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need"

Belial picked back up, quickly kissing the other boy on the cheek as he strolled in the crowd, quickly twirling his knife to make it known, smirking as nearly every guest backed away from the potentially dangerous boy.

"While there's children to make sad

While there's candy to be had

while there's pockets left to pick

While there's grannies to trip down the stairs

I'll be there, I'll be waiting round the corner

It's a game. I'm glad I'm in it

'Cause there's one born every minute"

The longer-haired boy once again went into the chorus and continued on with the song, spinning on his heel to come face-to-face with a young girl and raised the knife to her collarbone, dragging the blade across the skin lightly, leaving a small red trail of blood that stood out on her pale, porcelain skin.

"And it's so easy when you're evil

This is the life, you see

The Devil tips his hat to me

I do it all because I'm evil

And I do it all for free

Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need

I pledge my allegiance, to all things dark

And I promise on my damned soul

To do as I am told, Lord Beelzebub

Has never seen a soldier quite like me

Not only does his job, but does it happily."

The grey-eyed one joined Belial back in the middle of the circle that the rest had formed around them. As Belial walked toward him, he breezed right past the shorter one. Their eyes locked for a moment, sharing their excitement at the deadly fun they were about to have--plans only known to them. Belial ended up near the crowd his counterpart had just scared half to death while the latter stopped inches away from the group on the opposing side of the circle. Once again, they sung the chorus in unison.

"And it's so easy when you're evil

This is the life, you see

The Devil tips his hat to me

I do it all because I'm evil

And I do it all for free

Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need"

Suddenly, as from out of nowhere, the shadows that engulfed much if not all of the crowd seemed to spring to life by their intertwined voices, rising with the elder's hand that was now adorned with a black glove and stretched high above his head. The two continued on with their twisted song.

"And I do it all for free

Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need

And I do it all for free

Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need"

The shadows formed overhead, completely surrounding the guests, frightened gasps and hushed whispers of the phenomenon echoing off the black walls. The shadow-controlling teen brought his hand down as the element he seemed to have a firm grasp on mimicked his movements. A split second before the darkness crashed down on the now-terrified patrons, the boy stopped the downward motion of his hand as the shadows maintained their distance a mere foot from the people crowded in the now doorless room. He slowly twirled his hand in circles as the black forms followed his lead, his singing matching the pace of his motions.

"It gets so lonely being evil

What I'd do to see a smile

Even for a little while

And no one loves you when you're evil..."

He trailed off, glancing at Belial for a moment. Grey locked with orange and a small sadistic smirk covered the equally sadistic boy's lips as he finished his song, the tempo quickly speeding back up and seeming almost violent compared to the previous quatrain.

"I'm lying though my teeth!

Your tears are all the company I need"

With that his hand flew down to rest at his side, the knife slipping through his fingers and digging into the floor as the shadows silenced the screaming they had caused moments before. The floor became blanketed in shadows as all but Belial and the boy at his side disappeared into the deafening darkness. A snap of gloved fingers and the object of destruction melted away into the floor and walls. The lights slowly began to come on as the boy once again linked arms with the red head and made their way through the door back to the main hall. The one responsible shot a glance back to the room as the ones who had exited upon Kiyotaka's warning (him, his brother, mother (as he couldn't locate his father), and Kai) reentered the ballroom.

A startled gasp rose from the prince's mother at the sight before them. Kiyotaka tore his gaze away from the two boys and glanced into the room. Inside, the lights had once again illuminated the immense room, the shadows no longer alive with malice, but resting dormant as naturally as they had been before the incident. The guests had been returned with the light and the floor washed in their blood. Each and every girl and boy that had attended the party had a ribbon tied around their eyes, blood red for the girls and black for the males. Blood soaked through their blindfolds, drizzling down their cheeks, each and every face contorted into one of agony and shock. Kiyotaka could only guess that one would find nothing but empty sockets should they remove the silk coverings. In addition, every girl was paired with a guy (most the ones they arrived with), their hands bound with the same black ribbon, a design in the same crimson color embroidered on it. Blood dripped from their finger tips, indicating slit wrists.

Ayumu gazed upon the scene in disgust, noticing the layout of the crowd. They had been formed into a perfectly round circle, each and every one bound together by their wrists. While the couples had black ribbon with crimson design, the two on either side of any pair that were uninvolved with their eternal neighbor were bound with crimson ribbons and a matching black design. Swirls of shadows loomed in the pool of blood that had been drained into the center of the room from the bloodied eyes and wrists. The three males heard a choked sob from the fourth survivor as their attention turned to the center of the area. The knife the grey-eyed boy had thrown down was now protruding from the right side of the king's chest. Perhaps it would have been sticking from his heart, but a missing heart-shaped chunk of flesh and breastbone over where the organ should have been made it clear that was impossible as his heart had been clearly removed. A small frown tugged at Kiyotaka's lips as he once again pulled the ballroom doors shut, blocking the nightmare-come-true from view of his mother's eyes. The woman herself had broken down in sobs and the younger son was attempting to comfort her while holding back his own tears.

Kai sighed softly to himself, but quickly gained a small grin on his face. Kiyotaka didn't dare ask what could have the man smiling, but sure enough, he found out. "Hey, it's not so bad." He offered, "In fact, I thought of something that makes that in there seem rather miniscule."

"And what is that?" the younger one bit, mentally cursing himself for doing so.

"You're king, now you _have _to get married."

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Wow, that was a bit of a lengthy chapter. Hope you didn't mind and liked it. Review! 


	3. Would Taste Just As Sweet

Next chappy. Not much to say, but enjoy!

Red Kitsune Flames: XD, you think? You sound freaked out a little, why could that possibly be? Ah well, thanks for reviewing!

freya kurenai: Yes, all praise the best song in the world! No one can deny its greatness. Thanks for reviewing!

Polaris18: Hm...it could go with Suki, but if you knew Belial, you'd know it's his song hands down. Either way, it's a great song. Thanks for reviewing!

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Marriage. It was possibly the single greatest evil in this world to Kiyotaka. Especially now, due to his unexpected promotion to king status. His mother had become a complete wreck since that night, almost a week ago, and was unable to arrange anything. This, of course, did mean a bit of relief for the eldest Narumi brother since he was no longer pestered every waking hour to find a wife. That in itself was a dilemma, though. While Kiyotaka didn't completely shun women, he couldn't stand most of them. Half the men he knew were whiney enough as it was, he didn't need countless girls throwing themselves at him. Since he knew the court and people in general would frown upon a gay marriage, he was forced to choose a woman for his partner. Sighing to himself, the brunette made his way out into the garden in the back of his castle.

A cross-shaped pathway led throughout the garden, dividing the main area into four sections, each blooming with various flowers of all rarities and origins. The main path, leading from the castle and going straight out, led past the flowers to a large pond with all sorts of fish of tropical colors and unusual shapes swimming about, large lily pads and flowers petals skimming across the surface. In the middle of the pathway set an old-fashioned wishing well that Kiyotaka recalled Ayumu falling in once when trying to look down and see the bottom. The five-year-old soon learned the meaning of 'shallow water'. The garden was set in a depression in the castle's south wall so three of the garden's edges were surrounded by cold, grey cement. The last edge was lined with a row of sakura trees, whose petals often blew off in a summer breeze and drifted to land on the surface of the pond. One could easily slip through the trees to get a view of a setting sun sinking below the rolling hills of the land. It made for a peaceful spot that Kiyotaka frequented often when he needed to get away from the hassle of the castle life. He glanced over the expanse of nature and paused at the upper left patch of flowers, the one slightly closer to the pond and trees. Quirking an eyebrow he made his way over to the form lying in the patch of white lilies, moonflower, and white carnations.

_Earlier that day..._

"Eyes, come on." The boy's eldest brother whined, "You need to redeem yourself, you've disgraced the family name."

An eyebrow shot up at the remark as Azel, the youngest of his three elder brothers gave Faii a look, "Don't say that." He warned.

"Why?" the eldest wondered, tilting his head to the side, "It's true."

"If you say things like that, he'll angst about it." Setsuna, the middle elder brother reminded him.

"Oh, right." Faii agreed, looking back to Eyes, "You're... a great brother?"

The youngest just hung his head as Azel continued to scold them both to no avail. Set simply ignored the younger boy and walked out the door while Faii curled up on the couch, promptly falling asleep. The silver-haired boy glanced to his brother, "At least you tried?" he offered.

"Not that it matters." Azel argued, "They never listen to anyone."

"Faii thinks because he's the oldest, he doesn't have to, and Set just doesn't respect anyone so he does whatever he wants."

The brunette nodded in agreement and sighed, "Well, at least now you don't have to go?"

"And when Faii wakes up and I'm still here?" the blue-eyed boy questioned, "He'll do something even worse...like cook."

A small shiver went down Azel's spine at the suggestion-- Faii was possibly the worst cook in the world. He took simple ingredients and made horrific creations with them that bubbled, foamed, melted pots, and some even moved. It was no doubt his cooking was toxic, and even worse, he thought it was good and wouldn't accept that anyone else didn't agree. So, the younger brothers were occasionally forced to choke down the acidic, liquid yet lumpy meals he somehow managed to concoct. Eyes always thought he'd make a great mad scientist with his creations. The brunette nodded and sympathized with his brother, "Looks like you're stuck, then."

A sigh escaped the silver-haired boy's lips as he nodded, "I'll see you when I get rejected." He said before exiting their home and making his way to the castle. Of course, by the time he had gotten there, it was nightfall and the way to attempt to look like he wanted to win Kiyotaka over was not to bang on his door in the middle of the night. So, like any good boy, he snuck around back and found himself a place to sleep. That, of course, was where Kiyotaka found him a few hours later when he snuck out from the castle.

A sleeping angel, he thought on first sight. A small form delicately curled up in a bed of glowing white and silver petals, complimenting his silvery locks of hair and pale skin. He almost reminded Kiyotaka of a porcelain doll-- he seemed as fragile as one. The young boy stirred in his sleep, sensing a shadow blocking the moonlight filtering over him. Vibrant blue eyes opened slowly, fluttering out the last remnants of sleep and gazed upon the brunette. A small gasp escaped the angel-featured one as he sat up and blinked, rubbing his eyes to clear his vision of the haze that sleep had set upon him. Once fully awake, his sights turned back up to the one towering over him. He knew right away this wasn't good-- he had come here to see Kiyotaka, not get caught by him.

Said man simply tilted his head to the side, studying the lithe figure still seated in the pale flowerbed, waiting for him to speak or move. Silver locks rustled from side to side as Eyes shook his head and glanced up once more. Pale lips separated to speak, but no words found their way past his throat. Somehow, anything he could think of to say sounded unintelligent or just downright ridiculous. He looked to Kiyotaka, trying to communicate his reason for being there without saying a word; in reality, he realized not speaking might have made him appear illiterate, as many of the poorer commoners were never taught well. Not that Eyes' family was anywhere near poor nor common, but he doubt Kiyotaka knew that.

Seeing that the younger one wasn't going to initiate a conversation, the brunette considered his options. Ultimately, he had three courses he could take: start talking to the boy, call the guards and report him as an intruder, or the third and most appealing-- simply because it was the least hassle-- ignore him. Deciding on the last action, he turned from the flowerbed and the boy and continued on his way to sit by the pond. He couldn't honestly care less why the boy was there, and as long as he didn't cause any problems or annoyances, Kiyotaka didn't see the big deal with letting him stay. He wasn't as kind as to give shelter to strangers, but the child wasn't even trying to get inside the castle. Figuring he shouldn't and wouldn't concern himself with it, he looked out past the sakura trees to the quiet valleys of the kingdom.

Slightly confused, Eyes blinked, but remained silent. Finally, though, his thoughts began racing, _"Why did he just ignore me? Does he not care that a complete stranger is sleeping on the grounds?" _He then thought back to what he'd heard of the new king, and realized that he may very well not care. Kiyotaka, if anything, was aloof and very quiet, if not altogether cold. He didn't concern himself with most issues and found anything that required his attention an annoyance. In that fashion, Eyes gathered that the older one ignored him simply so he didn't have to deal with him. Of course, these thoughts were discouraging, and the silver-haired one considered simply turning back home and telling Faii it was a no-go. He also knew that would be far from acceptable; after all, Eyes was a very attractive boy, mild-mannered, and kind-- there were few that didn't want him or at least didn't want to get to know him. While the argument that Kiyotaka wasn't most was a valid one, the eldest Rutherford wouldn't have it. He'd just say Eyes was too timid and needed to be more aggressive.

Deciding that _something _needed to be done, Eyes sat up to face Kiyotaka. His mouth opened, but no sounds came out. Kiyotaka also happened to be very intimidating, and the young boy wasn't quite sure what to say. His thoughts traveled to the only thing he and Kiyotaka could relate to, "That was a lovely party." He muttered softly. Though, in reality, the party had ended horribly. He was sure the elder boy knew he meant the former part of the occasion, if he had heard him at all. The brunette remained with his back to the garden and Eyes as his hazel eyes scanned the valleys and fields.

Just as he was about to give up hope that his soft words had reached royal ears, Kiyotaka spoke, disrupting the disturbingly quiet silence that had fallen between them, "Who are you?"

Azure eyes blinked at the question, "Um... my name is Eyes Rutherford." Said boy relayed, "I was... at your birthday celebration the other day on behalf of my family."

The king glanced back to the smaller one. His gaze traced over every feature of the angel-like boy, but simply couldn't place him. Then, it hit him, "You were that girl."

A small blush tinged Eyes' cheeks at the mention of his unfortunate attire and he regretfully nodded, "Yes."

Another scan of the figure determined he was indeed a boy and an eyebrow quirked, "You're not a girl."

In response, he shook his head, "No, my brothers put me in a dress."

Wondering what kind of family this kid came from, the brunette was actually slightly curious for once, "Why?"

"If you knew my brothers..." Eyes trailed off, not wanting to get into it. Hell, Set used Azel for a dartboard half the time, claiming he just got in the way of the darts. His family was anything but normal.

"Rutherford." Kiyotaka muttered to himself, "Your eldest brother... is his name Faii?"

The blue-eyed boy blinked again in surprise, _"How does Faii know the king?" _he wondered. Then, realizing how his brother was, wasn't sure he wanted to know. Either way, he nodded a confirmation, "Yes."

"I met him once at a ball." Narumi explained.

A short silence fell over the two before Eyes ventured to answer the aforementioned question, "I... was in a dress because Faii heard that you were to be wed to a girl, and thought that if I interested you..." He knew Kiyotaka would get his meaning, and wasn't quite sure how to end the sentence anyway.

"So he dressed you up as a girl to marry me." The king concluded.

"It wasn't thought out well, I know." Eyes agreed with the amused tone in the older one's voice.

"Well, he did pick the right boy." Kiyotaka muttered.

The silver-haired one would have been offended if the statement were anywhere near false. The fact of the matter was, though, besides being flat-chested, Eyes could fool anyone into thinking he was one of the fairer sex. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he nodded, "It's why he sent me."

"It was convincing, though a shame you weren't for real."

Eyes was taken a bit aback by the statement, "Why is that?" he wondered, dumbfounded.

A low chuckle sounded from the brunette's throat, "You were cute."

The younger one's cheeks were tinged with the slightest pink color at the remark, "I-I..." he managed to stammer out. Clearing his throat and looking off to the side to avoid the smirking man, Eyes tried once more to speak, "I don't know what you're speaking of."

"Oh?" Kiyotaka muttered, standing up to advance toward the boy, "Don't you?"

The blush darkened and silver hair swished side to side, "No..."

"Well..." the brunette reached the flowerbed where Eyes still remained seated and kneeled down in front of him. After taking in the boy's full appearance, Kiyotaka did have to wonder if he were some sort of heavenly being. The way the moonlight reflected off the silver petals and cast an enchanting glow onto the pale skin and soft silver locks gave Eyes an ethereal look. His blue eyes seemed to reflect the heavens themselves and held all the innocence of his youth and a knowledge beyond his years. A tanned hand was placed under the small chin to tilt those azure eyes up to his own, "You look pretty cute right now, too. Beautiful, even."

Eyes was sure his face was red as a tomato, though, even a tomato might have paled at the color he could feel radiating off his cheeks. Being this close to the king made his heart flutter and his breath catch in his throat. Kiyotaka was one of those people, you could tell from a mile away, he could make any girl or boy swoon with the right touches or sultry looks. He didn't have to try hard at all to get Eyes leaning in, wanting more than he really should. Their eyes locked once more as the older boy shifted closer to him. Nervous, but too entranced to notice, the silver-haired angel closed the narrow gap between their lips, pressing them together in a gentle kiss. He regained his sense of thought for a moment, and realized that he was way over his boundaries. His first instinct was to pull away and apologize for his actions, but as he went to do so a hand came up behind his head to put a damper on his retreating lips.

Kiyotaka pulled his head back closer and pressed their mouths closer together in another soft kiss, and if Eyes had been standing, he thought his knees may have given out at that very moment. Not only was it his first real kiss, but a damn good one. The brunette rubbed his tongue slowly across those pale lips as they parted slightly, granting him his requested entrance. He slipped his tongue inside and licked around that sweet mouth. Not only did the small boy look like an angel, he tasted like heaven as well.The brunette's thoughts traveled to darker areas of how his moans would sound and what small whispers he would utter out as he drew near to his edge. How his back would arch under delicate touches and how his smooth, creamy skin would feel as his clothes were parted from his body. Resisting the primal urges placed in every human being, Kiyotaka pulled away, noticing that as he did so, a small pant or two escaped those same lips. The little devil on his shoulder was begging him to take advantage of the boy, but he shook the temptations off and pulled back.

"I apologize..." he began, glancing to Eyes, though, he knew it wasn't necessary. After all, the other boy _had _been the one to initiate the kiss.

As expected, the blue-eyed boy shook his head and smiled up at him, "It was my fault." He managed to mutter out.

A silent nod accepted this and Kiyotaka spoke again, "Why are you here?"

The blonde sighed, "Since you didn't choose a wife at the party due to... certain events.. my brothers thought it would be a good idea for me to come to the castle in an attempt to get you to marry me." Or 'wooing' as Faii had put it, but Eyes wasn't about to go there.

An eyebrow shot up at this, "Why would he imagine that would possibly work?" Kiyotaka wondered.

"Faii's convinced that no one can resist me." Eyes admitted, groaning inwardly at the fool his brother was making of him. To illustrate his distaste of the statement, he rolled his eyes.

Another chuckle was heard as the royal man bent down to whisper in the other one's ear, "For once, I would agree." He kissed that tempting spot right below the boy's ear and felt him almost automatically lean into the touch.

The blush returned as blue eyes widened slightly and chills shot down Eyes' spine, "Wha...?" he looked to Kiyotaka for an explanation, but found him already standing once more.

His mouth was bent into a small smirk, "Perhaps you could try the front door next time." He suggested, winking as he turned to leave. One last glance was shot over his shoulder at the boy, "Say... tomorrow, around eight?" As a small, speechless nod was given and the brunette waved his goodnight as he disappeared into the castle.

All Eyes could do for a moment was stare after him. Once he regained his senses, he shook his head and finally stood. His thoughts were racing as to what Kiyotaka could be implying, though it was painfully obvious. His brother had been right after all, and the king had fallen all too easily for the silver-haired boy. Somehow, though, Eyes didn't see it turning out all so easy, _"Perhaps it's just a hoax." _He thought to himself, _"Maybe he's really just playing with me; maybe he's a lot different than I thought and is getting a good laugh at making me look like a fool." _Despite his self-doubt, there was a small burst of excitement and a tiny bounce in his step as he headed home. He could only hope that Kiyotaka was being honest.

* * *

Well, I was going to save this for until Christmas, but figured why not throw it up now? College is _finally _done with for this semester, so I'll be able to concentrate more on my fics (joy!). Next chappy will be up soon, so review! 


	4. So If Desire, Were It Not Desire Called

Well, I started it out of boredom and finished.. because I had to update eventually. So enjoy!

darkdranzer: Here it is, the next chappy. Hope you didn't have to wait too long. Thanks for reviewing!

Kuyeng13: They are, aren't they? But hey, that's what big brothers are for. Thanks for reviewing!

Dark Azure Wind: At least he's got that going for him. No matter how much he sucks, he'll look pretty doing it. Thanks for reviewing!

Red Kitsune Flames: Yay, ego boost. XD, as if I don't have enough of one, right? Thanks for reviewing!

freya kurenai: And I _finally _got this one up. No, can't say I know them... thanks for reviewing, though!

* * *

Sure enough, the next night at eight sharp, Eyes was at the castle's front door. As he approached the massive structure, he found his first obstacle: guards. Two men stood firmly at the castle doors, a sword in one hand, crossed against the entrance. He stopped a few feet from them, eyeing the weapons warily before turning his attention to the men themselves.

"What do you want?" the first demanded.

"I'm here to see the king." The soft accent responded.

"Go away, the king's busy." The other man sneered. For some reason, they both seemed to have a dislike for Eyes.

The youngest one concluded that probably many people came trying to get an audience with the members of the royal family, Kiyotaka especially. "He told me to come, though, just ask him." He countered calmly.

"I said he's busy." The slightly taller of the guards repeated.

The other removed his sword from its place at the door and held it out to rest aiming at Eyes' throat, "Now leave or lose your life."

The silver-haired boy frowned, but didn't step back from the assaulting metal. He then realized that perhaps everyone was tense because of the events at the party; he'd even noticed Kiyotaka was a bit distracted last night.Suddenly, a voice was heard from overhead, "So busy I have time to watch you two threaten a guest?"

Blue eyes snapped up to a balcony above where Kiyotaka was leaning over, watching the scene. Immediately, the sword was lowered and the guards began mumbling apologies. Shaking his head, the brunette disappeared from sight. Eyes then turned his attention back to the two men, who looked him up and down for a second. The first just scoffed as the second muttered something under his breath and yanked one of the large doors open. "Thank you." The delicate boy spoke softly before entering the castle foyer.

The interior was no different than it was a couple nights ago when he entered the castle decked out in a light blue and silver satin dress. Other than the fact that the people bustling around weren't dressed in quite as nice clothes, of course. Eyes entered a rather large problem as the doors shut behind him: he had no idea where to go. He had been in the castle a total of one time, and he had left early on, seeing that Kiyotaka was swarmed with people. Never having been a fan of attending balls alone, even though he was sure he could get plenty of people asking for a dance, he much preferred going with someone or not going at all.

So, there he was. Dressed in a lightweight, sheer, white top that could almost be considered a blouse, a light blue shirt under it, giving him an almost ethereal appearance. Though, he found once he was inside, he didn't quite know where to go. Alleviating him of his troubles was the king himself, who descended the majestic staircase slowly, taking in every feature of the light-haired one. As if by instinct, Eyes bowed slightly to the other man, though he was sure he didn't have to. Sure enough, a firm "Don't." ordered him back into an upright position.

"Sorry." The younger one apologized, softly. He wasn't sure how to act with Kiyotaka. He didn't know him well enough to act fondly, but he knew him too well to act like everyone else: polite and completely boring.

"It's fine." Kiyotaka assured him. A silence fell over them as the elder looked to Eyes, expectantly.

Growing a little nervous at the lack of conversation, the latter spoke again, "What.. exactly was your purpose for calling me here?" He knew, of course, but perhaps it would motivate the king to do something other than stare at him.

Sure enough, Kiyotaka turned around to face the stairs. "Follow me." He ordered, gently, and started up them. Obediently, Eyes followed behind until they reached a set of double doors.

Once through them, the blue-eyed boy realized they were in Kiyotaka's bedroom. The walls were covered in a deep, majestic purple and the thick, velvet curtains blocked out almost any light that would try to penetrate them. The king-sized, canopy-styled bed was decked out in dark cherry wood, black, silk sheets, and crimson pillow cases and comforters. The rest of the room had a few dressers and other furniture, all matching with the almost gothic theme.

Eyes took a look around once more, nodding his approval, "It's quite lovely." He muttered, half to himself. Kiyotaka, of course, just shrugged the comment off and pulled the doors closed behind him as he made his way over to his bed. He glanced at the standing boy once again as he sat, as if inviting him over. Quickly, Eyes joined him on the rather comfortable bed, _"Well," _he thought, _"it's to be expected for royalty." _

Suddenly, Kiyotaka cut off all thoughts as he slipped his hand in between the boy's thighs and cupped his crotch. Eyes opened his mouth in shock and to inquire what he thought he was doing, but only a soft whimper came out as the brunette pressed his lips to the other's. A light squeeze of his hand and Eyes pulled his head back, looking slowly up to the king.

"Something wrong?" he muttered, brushing his lips against the other's.

"Nn..." the unintelligible reply came as the silver-haired boy blushed darkly, suddenly realizing that the elder's hand was still groping him. He placed a hand lightly on the tanned wrist and bit his lip lightly, glancing back up into purplish-brown eyes, telling him that he was going a bit too far.

"Don't worry." Kiyotaka murmured, moving his hand upward to cup Eyes' cheek, "I'm not going to hurt you. Anytime you say stop, I will."

A nod registered the words and a strong feeling rose up inside the small boy. He wondered what it was, but couldn't quite place it as he leaned into the king. As strong arms wrapped around him, he realized that it was perhaps a sensation of trust. He trusted Kiyotaka, more than anything; more than his brothers, for sure. They never meant harm, but more often than not, things got taken too far. _"I trust him... with more than my body..." _He knew it was ridiculous, but he saw why so many loved Kiyotaka, and he had fallen into the bottomless pit with them. He made Eyes feel safe, like he could trust him to not hurt him in any aspect of the term. Though, one thing was bothering him, "Is that why you asked me to come back?" he wondered. What if Kiyotaka was different then they all said and he just wanted Eyes for his body?

"No." Of course not. Kiyotaka Narumi would never be like _that_; like everyone else. Eyes nodded silently and leaned into the embrace.

--

A good deal of time after Eyes entered the castle, he walked right back out that same door. He made his way from the castle and happened past a small, wooded area. A small rustle drew his attention to the trees as his blue orbs scanned the scenery. Seeing nothing, and chalking it up to a wild animal, he turned back to his path only to see a figure bathed in the moonlight a few meters ahead of him. He couldn't quite make out who it was, as the shadows from the trees were serving to block most of the person's face.

Eyes blinked as the figure stepped forward, and thought he remember the boy from the party, but couldn't quite be sure. "Hello..." he said, unsurely. The other one had a slightly dangerous air to him, as if he were a creature not of this world.

However, as soon as the redhead spoke, those uncertainties were washed away. Belial bowed before the silver-haired boy and lightly took his hand in his, pressing his lips to the pale skin in a light kiss, "Good evening, my dear." He muttered, glancing up to the boy, who if he wasn't mistaken (and he never was) had a slight tinge of a blush along his cheeks. This was going to be easier than he thought.

"Can I..help you?" the younger one wondered, slightly taken back by the manners the other one showed. He was, in a word, charming as hell.

"I noticed you at the king's party the other day." Burnt orange eyes darted up to meet cool blue ones, "And I thought what a pity it was that I didn't get to meet such a rare and beautiful boy before he left. After all, you only graced us with your presence for a short time."

The words were cheap, but the way this boy said them made them seem as sincere as could be. "Well... I don't much like attending parties alone." He explained.

"I'm shocked no one stole you away at first glance, you were certainly the diamond in the rough that evening." The sweet words were getting to that pretty silver head, and the older boy could tell.

"You're just generous with your words." Eyes insisted, though he wished to believe differently. He kept in the back of his mind the few hours he'd spent with Kiyotaka were more important than these few minutes now, but it was hard. This boy had a way about him that no other he had seen did. Even the feelings Kiyotaka gave him paled in comparison.

"Perhaps..." A delicate hand drew an equally delicate rose from his pocket, its petals as silver as Eyes' hair, glistening with the moonlight. He slipped the flower into the shorter one's soft locks of hair and placed a tender kiss on his cheek, "A prize as rare as yourself." He decided, "Though, not quite as beautiful."

The blush on Eyes' cheeks was staining his whole face rose red. He could do nothing but watch as the mysterious boy, whose name he wasn't quite sure of, brushed by him and headed toward the castle he had just came from. Shaking his head, trying to clear his thoughts of the boy, Eyes walked blindly along his path home. Every time a thought of Kiyotaka entered his head, the rose rustled against his temple, reminding him where his true thoughts lie.

* * *

How loyal, isn't he? Ugh.. (been working on this since Wednesday). At least it's done. Review! 


	5. Retain That Dear Innocence Which It Owes

Just a small warning: If you are the faint of heart or.. didn't like the party scene where everyone died.. there's another scene like that at the end.. so.. either deal with it or don't read it x-x. But I don't think that applies to anyone, so enjoy!

Red Kitsune Flames: But of course he is! He wouldn't be so cute and innocent if he wasn't. Thanks for reviewing!

Animestar73: Who could stay mad at a pretty boy giving you puppy eyes? Especially when he's this pretty boy? Thanks for reviewing!

Kuyeng13: That seems to be the popular opinion Thanks for reviewing!

L'Arc Hyde: That's because Belial never pays attention to the crap he spews and so he repeats himself a lot XD, no one cares, though, they're all swooning over his fake manners. Thanks for reviewing!

Acid Fire: I think we all know he is.. we just love him because he's pretty and will probably put out easily. Well, you don't, but you're weird. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

_"It's been a while." _Eyes thought, glancing to his nightstand where a clear vase tinged with blue at the bottom sat, the rose he had received resting inside. It was only a few days since he had visited the castle and had that encounter with the boy whose name he failed to learn. Still, the redhead and the king both encompassed his thoughts, battling with each other for his full attention. His blue eyes closed as the first rays of the sunlight peeked through his sheer curtains-- a stark contrast to Kiyotaka's. _"I wonder where that boy lives." _Not that Eyes would ever dream of making a move so bold. 

A knock on his door stirred him from his thoughts and a soft 'come in' ushered the youngest of his elder brothers inside. Azel smiled a knowing grin as he tilted his head, "Have fun last night?" he asked.

The older boy said the four words as if he knew something he shouldn't. The silver-haired brother sat up, his blankets pooling around his waist, "I don't know what you're talking about." He insisted, "But I had a fine time."

"News gets around fast." The eighteen-year-old said, chuckling, "There's already talk in town of some mystery boy going to the castle late at night and earning the favor of the king."

"Favor?" Eyes parroted, a small blush covering his cheeks, "I don't know why anyone would say that."

"Probably because Kiyotaka's been saying nice things about you." Another voice offered.

Blue eyes looked up to see the next eldest brother, Setsuna, leaning against the doorway. Azel snickered, his yellow orbs traveling back to his baby brother, "Seems he's got a crush."

"You're blowing things out of proportion." The youngest insisted.

"The public always does." Set agreed, "But Kiyotaka doesn't."

"What do you mean?" Eyes asked, warily.

"I mean the royal annoyance is waiting in the living room for you." A small laugh sounded as Eyes' blue orbs nearly bulged out of his head.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" he demanded, jumping out from under the blankets and rummaging through his dresser.

"Because it's more fun to see you panic?" The blond-haired boy offered.

Azel just sighed, shaking his head, "Be nice." He scolded lightly, though his words naturally fell on deaf ears.

"Yeah, yeah." The elder one mumbled, waving a hand, "So, Eyes, I'll just tell Kiyotaka to come on in, then." Before the half-naked boy could protest, his brother had left the room.

"Uh..." The brunette looked to his younger sibling, sweatdropping, before heading out, "I'll go stop that mess."

Eyes sighed to himself, finally being left alone to change, which he did quickly. He ran a few digits through his hair before exiting his room, _"I wonder what would bring him here." _He pondered as he made his way out to the living room, _"Maybe he really did miss me?" _Hey, a boy could hope.

Sure enough, Kiyotaka was standing near the front door, leaning casually against a wall. Eyes glanced into the living room as he passed by to see his eldest brother, Faii, asleep on the couch. "He fell asleep while we were talking." The brunette explained, his voice a mixture of annoyance and just a bit of amusement.

Eyes sweatdropped, "Yes, he does that.. quite often." Kiyotaka simply nodded and glanced to the younger one when he said nothing else. Taking the hint, Eyes asked the first question to come to mind, "What brings you here?"

"You, of course." Because that answered his question so well.

"What about me, exactly?" the silver-haired boy wondered, trying to get any bit of information he could. Of course, Kiyotaka didn't give out information so easily, so instead of answering, he simply shrugged and headed out the front door. A quick glance back and Eyes took the hint, following the elder outside.

--

After a rather lengthy walk, the pair stopped at a meadow lined with willow trees. The morning mist was only partially cleared, and the valley-like area retained a mystic look to it. Eyes' breath caught in his throat at the sight, "Where are we?" he murmured, not wanting to stir the air anymore than necessary.

The man at his side shrugged again, "Nowhere special." He replied, his voice dying as soon as it left his lips, though it wasn't that quiet.

Blue eyes scanned the meadow and the trees, breathing in the cold, yet damp morning air. It smelled like it did after it rained, a sensation the young boy had always enjoyed. He closed his eyes, enjoying the stillness of the air for a moment before speaking again, "Do you know a boy with red hair and orange eyes?"

The question elicited a small shift from the brunette, "Why do you ask?" he questioned, avoiding the subject as best he could without ignoring it altogether.

"Well, I ran into him last night." Eyes continued, "He said he was at your party, so I thought maybe you knew him."

"I do." The stoic answer came. Eyes clearly didn't get the hint that the king didn't want to speak on the subject.

"What's his name?" he asked, timidly, looking to the royal man.

Kiyotaka paused before shaking his head, "It's not for you to be concerned with." He stated, sounding harsher than he meant it. Seeing that the comment caused the boy to cast his gaze back to the mossy plains, the brown-eyed man sighed, "Did he do anything?"

"No, not really." Though, it wasn't a totally truthful response. A small blush began to rush to the pale cheeks, "He just... introduced himself."

"He introduced himself and didn't give a name?" The logic was astoundingly simple, yet somehow didn't apply to the situation.

"No..." Eyes trailed off, wondering what all the conversation had been about. When he tried to think back, all he could remember were sweet words and the boy being a complete gentleman.

Kiyotaka just shook his head again and watched as the last of the mist cleared, _"Belial, what are you up to now?" _If anything, the boy was an annoyance that needed to be dealt with.

--

After another long walk and a few more glances and small smiles, the couple parted after a couple chaste kisses and Eyes returned to his home. It never occurred to him that Kiyotaka never stated a reason for coming to see him. The king returned to his castle and made his way into his room, but not before being stopped by his younger brother. "Kiyotaka." Ayumu called out, emerging from his own room.

"What?" came the annoyed response. His brother wasn't that horrible to deal with, but he could get clingy and dependent if left to his own devices.

"So mean." The messy-haired boy muttered under his breath, "Someone stopped by for you while you were gone."

"Have someone else take care of it." The king ordered, "I can't deal with every commoner that comes wanting an audience."

"Well..." The younger Narumi trailed off, biting his lip, "He didn't want to leave, exactly...and... he kind of.. stuck around?"

If looks could kill, Ayumu would be about 60 feet under. "Where?"

"Um..." Without saying another word, a slender finger pointed in the direction of the master bedroom.

The taller brunette scowled slightly and made his way into his bedroom where the unwanted guest awaited. Dark orange orbs glanced up as the double doors swung open to reveal the king, and the teen chuckled to himself at the annoyance his simple presence caused. Kiyotaka sighed in exasperation, "What do you want?"

"I don't want." Belial corrected him, lounging back on the large bed.

"Then leave." The remark came as he walked straight past the redhead to his window.

A small pout formed on black-painted lips, "But I just got here."

"And you've already worn out your welcome, I should have you put to death as it is." Kiyotaka threatened, not at all in the mood to deal with the obsessed boy. It was a pure stroke of luck on Belial's part that the two ever met in the first place and since that day, he hadn't stopped pestering the man.

"What have I done deserving of death?" he asked, tilting his head in mock confusion. He knew what Kiyotaka was speaking of, but found it fun to go around in circles with him.

"As an accomplice to murder. Not only of several people, but the king himself." The new king replied, not a hint of sorrow in his eyes as he spoke so casually about his father's death.

"Accomplice?" Belial echoed, "I was no such thing, do you really think I could have stopped him?"

"You could have tried, as it was, you went along with it."

"Well, of course I did." The black lips curved up as he chuckled-- a dry, mocking sound, "Why would I stop my dear from having his fun? Besides, I don't fight."

"And I'm sure he wouldn't have listened to you if you'd told him to stop." The sarcasm lacing his voice was undeniable, yet Belial did just that.

"Of course he wouldn't." He answered, mocking a serious look. In reality, his companion would have most likely done just that. Minor details weren't that important, though.

"Leave." Kiyotaka repeated himself, sighing again in annoyance.

"But..." The redhead started to object, pouting once more and joining the king at the window, wrapping his arms loosely around the taller one's neck and leaning into him.

"Now." The latter said, a bit more forcefully, nearly glaring at the wannabe girl.

_"He's so sexy when he's treating me like shit." _Belial thought, falling even harder by the moment. His lips met cool skin as he trailed kisses down his obsession's neck, "So mean."

The king pushed the younger boy off at the affection, mentally shuttering as his thoughts roamed over the possibilities of where that mouth had been. His gaze traveled to a nearby floor lamp, but he knew from experience that abusing the boy would only strengthen his resolve to stay. "Don't come back here." He said in a low voice, walking toward the doors he had entered through not ten minutes ago. There was a chance Belial would follow him, but more likely than not, he would leave for the time being.

Sure enough, the redhead sighed to himself, a decision to resign his pursuit of Kiyotaka's love for the moment. He chuckled, _"Well, I won't come back to this room." _He silently agreed, making sure to listen to his love all the while staying in close quarters. With that, he slipped out the open window and into the setting afternoon sun. In the darkest corners of the room, the shadows shifted just slightly.

--

In another part of town, people were much happier and celebrating. A couple was standing before the alter, reciting their vows. Smiles and cheering sounded throughout the outdoor ceremony as the reverend spoke the final words to unite the man and woman as one. The young girl, barely even nineteen beamed as the man, easily in his mid twenties, who smiled back. The famous 'you may kiss the bride' was spoken and the newlyweds joined together for a kiss that started out all too innocent, a quick peck, then grew into something more passionate. The bride wrapped her arms around her new husband and smiled wider, if that was possible, into the kiss.

Suddenly, as if a bad storm were approaching all too rapidly, the entire area darkened. The sunlight was blacked out and the audience was engulfed in a black, wispy substance. "What is this?" one member muttered. As soon as he did, the creeping darkness swept into his mouth and down his throat as easily as the air itself, suffocating him. The people in the immediate area that could strain their eyes to see the body next to them. Their screams were cut short as they met the same fate as the first boy.

The bride and groom were the only ones left alive in mere seconds and had only now had time to react, breaking the kiss. As their lips parted, she gasped-- a soft sound that barely even registered in the deafening darkness. Before her husband could speak, he uttered a pained sound of his own, pulling his love closer as to protect her from what was harming him. To his despair, as he wrapped his arms around her small form, he found cold steel protruding from her back, identical to the sword that was embedded in his own body. The two leaned into each other, rejoining at their mouths, which now sported identical trickles of blood.

As their lives left them like a whisper, a soft chuckle sounded as if from all around. An invisible hand was waved and the shadows cleared to reveal the scene the gray-eyed boy had laid out. A satisfied grin covered the dark-haired boy's lips as he gazed over his work. Every seated boy and girl, every man and woman that had attended the glorious celebration was now collapsed onto the chair in front of them, slumped forward as if in a bow to the couple before them. Their arms lay limply at their sides, fingers intertwined with those next to them, or if seated in an end seat, their hands were clasped with the attendee across the isle. As it should be, the main event as at the alter, the bride and groom locked in their eternal kiss. A stream of shadow continued from the hilts of the thin swords protruding from their backs at a steep angle. The shadows formed what appeared to be the top of a heart, the swords continuing down and through the lovers to compose the bottom half. A dozen white roses were lined along the arch of shadow, dripping red with blood. The metal of the swords glistened in the setting sun with the couple's blood as well, giving the pair a dark and twisted wedding as well as a short and fitting end.

The cause of the scene chuckled to himself again, bowing to the corpses, "Congratulations." He whispered, tossing a pure, dark red rose at their feet, as untainted as their love. Turning from the scene, he exited via the shadows, which melted back into their normal state, leaving the bloody wedding to continue on.

* * *

And just in case you _don't _remember him, yes, this is the same boy from the party that killed Kiyotaka and Ayumu's father and.. damn near all the guests. What can I say? It's what he does, and he needed to let out a little frustration.. I'm sure you all can guess why... but perhaps not. It'll be obvious by the end of the fic. If you don't enjoy the gory scenes... well, too bad. XD, there will only be one more scene like the last one, so no worries. This was basically just random and to bring the character in a bit more and (hopefully) develop his personality a little. I'll stop ranting now 


	6. Without That Title: Desire Doff Thy Name

Not much to say about this chapter... kind of boring, I think, but it's building up the character's relationships a bit, which is sadly necessary. So enjoy!

Animestar73: Joy, I'm glad that it wasn't confusing or crappy. Yes, Ripper certainly has an interesting way of crashing a party, doesn't he? And everyone likes Belial, there's no fighting the charm. Thanks for reviewing!

Lady Duzie: Hey, everyone needs to focus on Belial every now and then... Suki does it all the time. Thanks for reviewing!

L'Arc: Belial and artful death are wonderful things. Too bad Belial doesn't take up his dear's art, then they could work together and slaughter everyone.. you know, in a tasteful way. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

"Did you hear about that murder?" Ayumu asked, folding a newspaper back to its original state and tossing it on the table. The front page displayed the beautiful art of death that had befallen the newlywed couple.

Kiyotaka glanced at the picture before sighing and shaking his head, "It was that annoying boy again." He muttered to himself.

"It says no one can figure out how it happened. Big surprise there, they're investigating something completely out of their league."

"It's out of anyone's league." The elder brother corrected, "He has powers no one else does, they should just bury the bodies and go on with their lives."

"You know, for a king, you don't have a very compassionate attitude." Ayumu pouted, crossing his arms.

"Did you think his attitude would change just because he became king?" another voice asked from the doorway. The Narumi brothers looked up to see a man in his mid forties with short, tan hair and golden eyes.

"Kai..." Kiyotaka acknowledged, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm only here to see you, my dear." The older man strode over to his king and leaned against his chair, running a hand through brown tresses of hair.

Kiyotaka sighed, showing a slight annoyance at the affection, but didn't pull away at the same time. Ayumu quirked an eyebrow at the display, but just shook it off. For all he knew, the two were together; it wasn't like Kiyotaka divulged his personal life to his younger brother. They may have been related, but they weren't close by anyone's standards.

Kai chuckled and placed a kiss on the young man's head, "Now, now, no need to get pouty."

Ayumu snickered as his older brother shot both of them a glare, "I'm doing no such thing." He pointed out, "Why are you here?"

"Like I said, I'm here for you." The light-haired man tilted his head, "You're always so busy in this stuffy castle, you should let loose every once in a while."

"I'm not sleeping with you." Kai was perhaps the biggest pervert in all the land, and usually wouldn't even pay attention to someone as old as Kiyotaka (who was only in his early twenties). He had a policy not to sleep with anyone older than his sons, the youngest of who was only sixteen. Kiyotaka seemed to be an exception to this rule, though Kai never forwardly expressed an interest.

Ayumu surveyed the pair and shook his head. Kiyotaka and Kai had been together, he had been told, since his brother was just a child. The bond had grown and the two became rather close (or as close as Kiyotaka could become to someone). Ayumu knew that his sibling had some attraction to the older man, but with the introduction of this new boy, Eyes, into his life, he wasn't sure who Kiyotaka would choose.

There was also the concern of Belial. While he outrightly professed his obsession with the king, the latter showed no interest in the redhead. Belial, however, wasn't so easily dissuaded, and he followed Kiyotaka wherever he went. Naturally, he had a strong distaste for Kai, who had easily (and unintentionally) earned the leader's favor, and Kiyotaka took to keeping Kai around simply to ward off his stalker, who kept his distance around the sandy-haired man.

Another glance was cast to the ignored newspaper. It was the same boy that had committed this crime who had killed his and Kiyotaka's father. That boy, dubbed 'Ripper' by the public, was Belial's closest companion. There was no other word for the two, they were soul mates (or so they said), though they weren't in love and showed no interest in a physical relationship with each other. Their bond, Ayumu had heard Ripper himself say, ventured further than mere flesh; it was a connection that couldn't be cut with any knife. Sweet, tempting, irresistible poison: that was how Belial had described his dear. Ayumu had to admit, as much as he wanted to hold something against the boy, he had a way with words. He could never forgive him, no matter how sweet the apology, for murdering his father for no reason other than a magnificent display of death.

The messy-haired boy sighed; his brother knew the strangest people. Everyone's attention turned toward the entrance as a knock resonated through the halls. Someone was at the castle doors and wanted in. He briefly heard Kiyotaka mutter about useless guards before he stood up to answer the guest. Kai, however, had other ideas and sat in the king's seat while pulling the man himself into his lap. He looked to Ayumu, who took the hint and passed by his annoyed brother and disappeared down a hallway.

A minute later, he reentered the living room (if you could call such a large and carefully decorated room a living room at all) with a silver-haired boy. Kiyotaka quirked an eyebrow at Eyes, who, seeing the two men's position, blushed faintly and cast his gaze toward the floor.

Kai tilted his head and looked between the two, before speaking in his southern accent, "New boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend."

"I'm not his boyfriend." The two voices clashed in unison and their eyes met for a brief moment before Eyes looked away again. While Kiyotaka's voice had been cool and even, as he was just stating a fact, Eyes' British accent had been laced with a certain longing or disappointment.

The tan-haired man chuckled, "Doesn't sound like you want to keep it that way." He spoke to the younger boy, who looked very nervous by this point.

"I don't know where you'd get that idea." The blue-eyed boy's voice was so soft compared to Kai's that it barely registered.

"It's a surprise you're not blushing more." Kai leaned forward and poked the boy's cheek, "You look like you're about to turn tail and run off."

"Kai, that's enough." Kiyotaka pushed off of the older man's lap and walked to Eyes, "Perhaps we can talk in peace out in the garden." Now that he was being addressed directly by the king, a slight tinge of a blush did show on his pale cheeks as he nodded his consent.

"You just love making things hard on him, don't you?" Ayumu asked the remaining man as the two departed.

Kai chuckled, "Of course not, whatever would give you that idea?"

"You'd be jealous if he got with Eyes instead of you, wouldn't you?"

An eyebrow quirked at the accusation, "I don't get jealous. You act like I'm in love or something."

"And you're not?" Ayumu tilted his head and gave Kai a look that said he knew better.

"I'm not." His voice sounded confident and the look in his eyes matched, "There's no one I'm in love with."

A small frown tugged at the brunette's lips-- he hadn't said it with any sadness in his voice, but the cold tone was nearly just as bad. He glanced out the way that Kiyotaka went; he knew Kai meant a lot to his brother, and if Kiyotaka saw him in this state (as opposed to his usual, casual, carefree demeanor), would he act differently? As it was, he acted as cold to Kai as he did to everyone else, but Ayumu knew when they were alone, it was different. Kai wasn't the hopeless type, he wouldn't chase after Kiyotaka if the latter always pushed him away.

The teen sighed to himself, wondering who would his brother end up choosing. That innocent,angelic-looking boy or his lifelong companion?

---

Out in the garden, Eyes had taken a seat next to a bed of silvery-white flowers that almost reflected the sun's light. He remembered the night he had met Kiyotaka for the first time; he had fallen asleep in that very patch of flowers and had woken up to Kiyotaka watching him with slight curiosity. Now, Kiyotaka was surveying him from the corner of his eye, taking his seat next to a pond with large lily pads floating calming along the surface and tropical fish darting around each other under the petal-covered surface.

"Why did you come?" Kiyotaka was, for once, the first to speak.

Eyes ran a finger along a moonflower petal, envying the plant for not being in his position. His and Kiyotaka's eyes locked as he looked back up, "I was just wondering..." he bit his lip, swallowing hard as that small blush found its way back onto his cheeks, "What you feel for me." Of course it hadn't been his idea to come and propose the question (he would rather have spent his time reminiscing about the conversations he'd had with both Kiyotaka and Belial this past week) , but whenever his brothers got an idea in their heads, he was the one to carry them out. Needless to say, most of their plans revolved around him doing embarrassing, demeaning, or other things that would have him hiding his face in an instant.

This was another plan cooked up by his two eldest brothers, Setsuna and Faii. At first, Set had (like always) been joking around, saying that Eyes should go confess his crush to none other than the one he had it on. Eyes protested, saying that he enjoyed Kiyotaka's company, and that the king would most likely cut off all contact if he thought Eyes was just in it to get with him.

"But you _are_." Set had argued, and the youngest had to explain that if he was, he would have taken his chances. With that idea thoroughly rejected, the second oldest began again, this time suggesting that Eyes go ask Kiyotaka how he felt. "If he says he likes you, you've got nothing to worry about!" It seemed ingenious-- to everyone but Eyes, that is. He complained that Kiyotaka would get suspicious, or assume, and that he couldn't deny the claims since they were completely true. In the end, Faii had gotten annoyed with the bickering and ordered Eyes to go to Kiyotaka and ask him how he felt about him. Then, before the silver-haired boy could protest, his brother fell asleep.

So, there he was now, awaiting Kiyotaka's reaction. He was sure, whatever his response would be, it would be the last thing Eyes ever expected._"If only I knew what to expect, then I'd know what he'd really say." _He thought, glancing to the brunette when he didn't answer.

After a moment (whether of pondering or just realizing that Eyes actually expected an answer), he simply shrugged. Nothing more, just a small movement of his shoulders. Taking that as a hint to drop the subject, Eyes lowered his gaze once more to the enchanting flowers. He would murder his brothers when he saw them again-- he had put himself on the line, waiting to get shot down... and he had. Maybe Kiyotaka wasn't so unpredictable after all.

"You're not like everyone else." The king finally spoke, "You're not after me because of my money or power or looks."

"I'm not after you at all." Eyes interjected, though he wasn't quite sure that statement had still held true. "I just mean... I like our relationship how it is now... I'm not trying to get with you."

"Exactly my point." Kiyotaka told him, "You're different." Eyes wasn't sure if this was a _good _thing, necessarily, but as if reading his mind, the Narumi spoke again, "It's not bad."

"So...does that mean you don't mind me?" the silver-haired boy asked, finally looking up from the flowers.

Kiyotaka gave no verbal reply, but instead stood and walked over to the seated angel. He knelt down in front of him and grasped his hand in his. For a fleeting moment, Eyes thought the royal boy was going to propose, but instead Kiyotaka leaned forward and caught his pale lips in a chaste kiss. As quickly as he had leaned in, he pulled back and their eyes locked briefly, "Does that answer your question?"

Eyes' vibrant blue eyes were cast downward as the blush on his cheeks intensified greatly. He felt like his crush had just asked him out, and realized that it was something very akin to that. This time, he was the one to give the unvoiced response, though it was just because he was afraid if he tried to talk, he would stutter and make a fool of himself. So, he opted for nodding silently.

"Good." And just when Eyes thought the king was going to stand up and make his way back over to the pond, he instead tilted the boy's face back up and kissed him again. The younger one briefly flashed back to the scene in Kiyotaka's bedroom where he had nearly jumped the startled boy. The brunette had definitely been acting odd that whole day, and this time his touches were much more discreet and his advancement wasn't as forceful as it had been the other day.

Being introduced back to this Kiyotaka, the one that made all the girls swoon, Eyes melted into the kiss and he himself grew bolder, wrapping his arms around the taller one's neck. He even, hesitantly, returned the kiss and parted his lips to the probing tongue. He suddenly felt light headed and very hot and dizzy, and though it was the last thing he wanted to do, he broke the kiss and pulled back slightly.

Kiyotaka watched as the younger boy panted softly and raised an eyebrow, "Are you alright?" They hadn't done anything worthy of such exhaustion.

"Fine..." Eyes breathed out, shaking his head. What had come over him just now? He had been nervous and blushing, sure, but not feeling like he was going to faint just from a little kiss. Okay, so it hadn't been so little.

"Brother." The new voice alerted both boys to Ayumu's presence, though it wasn't the messy-haired boy's presence that startled them, but the shaky way he had managed the one word and the tear-stained eyes that looked back at them.

Not showing much concern for his younger sibling's state, Kiyotaka glanced over his shoulder at him, "What?"

Ayumu just shook his head as more tears spilt from his chocolate-colored eyes. Eyes frowned and rose to stand, walking over to the older one, "Are you okay?"

It wasn't the prince that answered, but Kai joining the group, "Kiyotaka, news just got in. Your mother..." he trailed off glancing at Ayumu; the young boy didn't need to hear the news again, but he was now leaning on Eyes for support, and the eldest wasn't sure he was hearing anything right now. "Your mother's dead, she killed herself."

Kiyotaka surveyed the reaction of his brother and Eyes at the words-- the former seemed to cry harder and the latter gasped in soft shock before wrapping his arms around the thin body. "Is that all?" he asked, showing no compassion for a soul.

Eyes looked back at him, aghast, "That's all you have to say?" he demanded, frowning, "You should be the one comforting your brother, not me. What's wrong with you?"

Finally, the king stood, "I never liked either of my parents, they were annoying." He headed inside, pausing to glance to Ayumu from the corner of his eye, "And you're doing a fine job, no need for me to waste my time with it." Having said that, the elder Narumi vanished through the doors and Kai sighed, muttering something and following him in.

---

"I never knew either of my parents." It was about an hour after Eyes and Kiyotaka had received the news of the latter's mother's death. Eyes and Ayumu had remained out in the garden, where they now sat by the row of sakura trees that lined the only side of the garden that wasn't composed of castle wall. Ayumu had calmed down considerably, and now somberly sat gazing out across the rolling hills. "It's always been my brothers and I." Eyes then realized how grateful he was to have three elder siblings. What if he'd been an only child, or only had a brother like Kiyotaka?

He glanced to the brunette, who seemed to not be registering any of this. Instead, he spoke completely off the subject, "People think being royalty's so great... that having nice things can ease and hardship that you might have..."

"But with power comes complications, and if you've been used to such treatment, it doesn't make things better." Eyes finished for him, "It's only all it's cracked up to be if you've never had it, right?"

"Yeah... pretty much..." Watery brown eyes closed as a soft sigh escaped his lips, "Not that our mother was much of anything after our father was killed...she went nearly completely insane."

Eyes frowned and wrapped an arm around the brunette's shoulders, _"Perhaps it's better that I didn't know my parents... it seems they just cause pain." _But did the pain outweigh the joys? He turned his attention back to Ayumu, "It's got to be hard," he sympathized, "having only Kiyotaka left."

Ayumu immediately shook his head, "It's not like that, Kiyotaka's a great brother... just not when anyone else is around."

"Why do you think that is?" the younger boy wondered aloud.

"I don't know...he's always been like that, though.. I guess so he can maintain a good image in the public eye? If no one sees him being kind, he'll never show weakness..."

"But is being cold and harsh that much better?" Eyes couldn't get Kiyotaka's hard gaze out of his head; he genuinely looked like he didn't care that his brother was suffering.

"He seems to think so... so I guess it is, for him." A hand came up to wipe away a few stray tears that hadn't fallen from his cheeks, "It's alright, though, I know he means well."

For the first time in what felt like forever, Eyes smiled faintly, "You're rather forgiving."

"You think? He's my brother, it's just natural to me. Though, he usually says it's weak."

"I don't think it's weak... I think it's sweet." He rested his head on Ayumu's shoulder and watched the sun set over the horizon.

Ayumu glanced to him and chuckled slightly, kissing the top of his head, "You're not so bad yourself... thanks." Eyes glanced up at him, quizzically, but all he got was a shake of messy brown hair in response. Deciding he didn't need to know what he was being thanked for, the blue-eyed boy nodded and closed his eyes, content with himself for the time being. _"I hope Kiyotaka chooses you." _Ayumu told Eyes in his head, _"You could do him a lot of good."_

* * *

Aw, so now Ayumu and Eyes are bonding... and a little bit more on Kiyotaka and Ayumu's brotherly relationship (or lack thereof)... and even a little making out.. Kiyotaka's such a pedophile. Then again, he has Kai all up on him, so... well, not too much happened in this chapter.. o.o, it's a filler chapter... filler, filler! Next chapter things will start to get interesting when Belial comes back in to try and once more steal Kiyotaka away from Eyes (and possibly Kai). But someone shall interfere in a very...interesting way. Who will it be, and what will they do? Review to find out! 


	7. And For That Name

Finally got this done. I've been procrastinating with my Spiral fics, badly. I managed to... something this one out... no word would have sounded good there... pump, squeeze, push...? Stopping, stopping now.. please ignore that. And enjoy!

Shio-chan27: Yay, just wait, I'll get you addicted to my fics XD. And yes, Ayumu and Eyes bonding is very much 'aw'. Thanks for reviewing!

Mello-kun: x-x, I don't think this counts as a review and... I don't know how to respond to it, so.. yeah...

rumor: XD, he might be sick in the head. Yeah, from what we can tell, Kiyotaka's a good brother... just when absolutely no one else but Ayumu is around. I'm not sure if that's good or not, but.. Ayumu's convinced it is. Thanks for reviewing!

Acid Fire: XDD, fear the sap, it'll get on you. Thanks for reviewing!

Animestar73: Nope, but he's in this chapter, so yay! Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

It had been a few days after the news of the Narumi's mother's death. Ayumu had been rather quiet and Kiyotaka had been just as silent, though his lack of conversation was never a surprise. Currently, he was being annoyed by an ever-pestering redhead, who just wouldn't seem to leave him alone. Belial pouted as the king ignored his attempts to get his attention.

"You shouldn't reject me," the younger boy said, looking to the brunette.

Kiyotaka sighed, "Why?"

"Because it's mean, I haven't done anything to you."

"You're annoying," the elder pointed out.

"So? I'm better than that perv that always tries to get at you."

Kiyotaka knew he meant Kai, "I don't think so."

"Why not?" Belial whined, "He'll just use you, you know."

The king shrugged, "So?"

Nothing he was trying was working, though he knew it wouldn't. He moved onto the arm of the chair Kiyotaka was sitting in and ran a hand through his mahogany tresses, chuckling slightly at the annoyed expression he received. "You really hate me, don't you?"

"No." Belial blinked, and at his confused expression, Kiyotaka rolled his eyes, "I don't care about you enough to hate you."

The redhead sighed, "So mean."

"Am I interrupting something?" a new voice asked. The two looked up to see Kai leaning against the doorway, watching the scene with amusement.

"Yes, go away," Belial told him, narrowing his eyes. He didn't hate many, but he did hate Kai. It was only for the simple reason that Kiyotaka loved Kai, despite what he might say. Belial knew that no matter how much Eyes tried to get close to the stoic boy, he'd never amount to what Kai meant to him. No matter how much _anyone _tried to get to him, no one would matter as much as the tan-haired man. That was why Belial hated him more than anything, so much so that he couldn't even stand to be in the same room with him for long.

At Kai's nonchalant 'nah', Belial looked to Kiyotaka and pouted again. Looking between the two for a moment, Kiyotaka turned his attention to Kai, "It's been a while since you've been here."

At being ignored for Kai, burnt orange eyes narrowed once more and he made his departure. Now alone with only Kai, the brunette relaxed a bit. The elder man chuckled and tilted his head, "Being as annoying as always, I assume?"

"When is he anything else?" the king asked, rhetorically. Kai just chuckled again in response and took a seat in Belial's place. This time, though, when a hand was run through his hair, Kiyotaka leaned into the touch just slightly.

---

"Hey," Ayumu greeted, looking up as Eyes entered the castle.

The silver-haired boy smiled and nodded to him, "How are you doing?"

The brunette offered a small smile in return and shrugged, "Better than yesterday."

"That's good to hear," the soft, British accent noted and return the hug he received.

"Here to see my brother?" Ayumu assumed, tilting his head.

Eyes chuckled and nodded his confirmation, "Yeah, if he's not busy."

Brown eyes rolled, "He never is, he just pushes all of his responsibilities off on others."

"Doesn't sound like a very good leader," he noted.

Ayumu thought about it for a moment, "Well, I guess he isn't, but at the same time, he isn't a _bad _one, either." Kiyotaka generally didn't care about things enough to worry over them, but things never really went bad while he was there, either. "He's in the library, but he's probably with Kai." They both sweatdropped at the thoughts that sentence implied, "Uh..you might want to knock first."

Eyes shook his head and chuckled slightly, "I'll make sure to," he promised, and set off in the direction of the library. Once he arrived, he lightly knocked and winced slightly at the harsh 'what?' that answered him. He always wondered why the older boy was so cold and withdrawn, but just shook his head of the thoughts, "It's me," he said softly.

Kiyotaka raised an eyebrow and stopped Kai's hand from making its way any further up his shirt. Taking the hint, the elder took a seat on the couch opposite his friend, chuckling at how naive Eyes was. Did he not realize the two of them were practically together? Or perhaps he was the naive one, thinking they were practically together when Kiyotaka would rather be with Eyes. After a moment of thinking on it, the golden-eyed man scoffed to himself at the idea-- how could Kiyotaka choose that little, timid brat over him, someone who had been there with him since he was a young child?

"Come in," Kiyotaka ordered, and watched as the door swung open. Eyes took a few steps into the large room and nodded to the brunette, casting a glance to Kai, and wondering why he was half-smirking/half-glaring at him.

After a moment of the three trading sideways glances at each other, Kiyotaka turned his attention back to Kai, "Would you mind giving us some privacy?"

The tan-haired man waved a hand as he stood from his seat, "Yeah, yeah," he said, offhandedly, heading out the door. He cast one glance back at Eyes before shaking his head and exiting the library, shutting the door behind him.

"How have you been?" Eyes asked, taking a seat where Kai had just risen from.

Kiyotaka shrugged, "Fine." He'd never been one for small talk, and mostly ignored anyone that tried to discuss it with him.

Unfortunately for Eyes, he had no real reason to stop by other than he had missed the king and wanted to see him. Though, as the silver-haired boy nodded, Kiyotaka didn't seem particularly bothered by the silence. Closing his vibrant, blue eyes, he thought that perhaps sometimes words weren't needed.

---

"Have a fun silence?" Belial asked the youngest Rutherford as he exited the castle a couple hours later. Silence was okay for a while, but it got to Eyes after a while, and he excused himself with little more than a nod from the brunette.

The redhead was waiting outside the castle when Eyes left, and his inquiry caught the boy's attention. "Pardon?"

"Well, you can't say it was a conversation, you two barely talked," Belial informed him.

"Why do you know?" After thinking of exactly why Belial _did _know, Eyes shook his head, "Never mind. Here to see Kiyotaka?"

"Hm...no."

Blue eyes blinked, "Oh...alright, well, I should be getting home.."

"I'm here to see you, obviously." Belial's words stopped Eyes from advancing further down the path that led to his and his brothers' home.

"Me? What for?" Secretly, the young boy was overjoyed. Even though he knew he belonged with Kiyotaka, Belial was fun to be around and his conversations were always interesting, though more often than not, it left Eyes blushing.

A delicate, manicured hand came to cup a pale cheek and tilted the boy's face up. Their eyes locked, and just the intense gaze of burnt orange eyes spread a soft rose color across that same cheek. "I need a reason to see you now?"

Eyes blushed more, just slightly, at how he must have come off. Belial was here to see him for no reason, and he had demanded an explanation. He shook his head, "No, of course not."

"Then why ask?"

"I just...thought you would have had a reason, is all," the younger boy explained quietly, "Most do."

"I'm hardly most," Belial reminded, which was very true. Everything from his appearance to his attitude was abnormal. Perhaps that was what drew Eyes to him so much.

Eyes nodded slightly in agreement, "I suppose that's true."

A soft chuckle reached his ears as a kiss was placed to his cheek, "Well, you need to be getting home, don't you?"

There it was again. That irresistible charm, the way he could turn simple words into something much more meaningful. Every conversation with him seemed like it brought Eyes years closer to him-- he couldn't believe, when he thought about it, that he'd only known the redhead less than a month.

"Not really," he replied, knowing what was coming.

"You said you did," he pointed out, tilting his head.

"I know... I just..." Eyes was at a loss for words, which seemed to happen often around this boy. He was just trying to make an excuse to leave because he thought Belial wasn't there for him. Did he secretly do it in hopes that the older one would say that he wanted him to stay and talk with him? Eyes shook his head-- Belial made him think a lot more about his intentions and feelings that anyone else.

"You just...?" He was still expecting an answer, even though it was as clear as day.

"I...am not sure anymore," the silver-haired boy admitted, rubbing his head, "I just know I didn't mean it."

"Why say it if you don't mean it?"

"Almost everyone says things they don't mean."

"Are you almost everyone? And here I thought you were different, maybe I was wrong..."

A hand clamped around Belial's wrist as he turned to leave, "I'm not...at least, I don't think so."

"You don't think?" came the next question, Belial choosing to hear only the words that suited him.

"I do think..." He sighed, "You're very difficult to talk to."

Belial chuckled again, "I know."

"Regardless... I _should _be getting home, I'm sure Azel will start to worry if I don't get home soon."

"Of course," the orange-eyed boy agreed, tilting Eyes' face up once more and locking their lips in a chaste kiss before pulling away and leaning against the castle wall, "I'll see you later, angel."

Eyes flushed darkly and, instead of trying to mesh words together, simply nodded and turned, continuing on his way.

---

"You aren't home often," Kanone noted, looking up as a certain tan-haired man strode into the room he was occupying.

Kai shrugged, "I'm with Kiyotaka often."

"You're in their land more than you are ours, that's not very fitting," the brunette pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah," the boy's father waved him off, "Not like it matters, nothing ever happens here."

Kanone sighed, "It's going to be weird being married to your boyfriend.. why aren't _you _stuck in this thing?"

Kai shrugged, "Because I'm the one who arranged it? You can't arrange a marriage with yourself."

Olive green eyes stared at the older one for a moment, "Yes, yes you can. People do it all the time."

Golden-inspired orbs rolled, "Not like this. Besides, I figured Kiyotaka would have given up the position by now."

"So why aren't I arranged to marry their prince, you know, since _I'm _a prince?"

"Because their prince is underage, and it wouldn't look good for the future king to be a pedophile," he pointed out.

Kanone groaned and buried his face in his arms, "You just like to watch me suffer."

Kai chuckled and ruffled his son's hair, "Just a little," he admitted, "But look on the bright side."

"...there's a bright side?...that benefits _me_?"

"Of course. At least Kiyotaka won't cling to you."

"No, he'll just ignore me, that's not much better," the teenager pointed out, "Besides, now I can't be with anyone I want to be with."

"Being royalty isn't about doing what you want to do," the older (and supposedly wiser) of the two informed him.

"I so got scammed on this deal," he complained, batting away the hand that insisted on messing his hair up even more.

"Maybe, but how do you think I feel? My boyfriend's getting married to my kid." He thought this through, then chuckled to himself.

An eyebrow quirked and Kanone glanced up at his parent, "Do I want to know?"

"Well, if worse comes to worse, I suppose I could just get you two in a threesome." Kanone groaned again.

* * *

Yes, it was spontaneous, and even though Kai is a relatively minor character, so is Kanone. The fic will still revolve around the Eyes/Belial/Kiyotaka love...thing... it's not a triangle x-x, Eyes is falling for both of them and Belial wants Kiyotaka and is seeming to flirt with Eyes... and no one knows what Kiyotaka wants. Wonder how it'll end...XD, ha, I know! Yes, fear it, I actually have the end of this thing planned out. And it's coming up soon, only three chapters left. Hope you enjoyed! 


	8. Which Is No Part Of Thee

Shio-chan27: Yup, poor Kanone. Perhaps something will happen to change that, hm? Never know. Thanks for reviewing!

Polaris: Uh...yeah...right x-x. Thanks? Maybe...

Acid Fire: XD, apparently Kanone does. And yes, it is quite ironic that his name is Eyes and he's such an idiot. And... Belial gets to mess with him, at least? Kiyotaka kind of gets screwed, though. Thanks for reviewing!

A/N: The next chapter's the last one and a lot of shit is going to happen in it, so it's going to be looooooong. At least, I'm pretty damn sure it is. There's the wedding, and then a bunch of other things no one knows about, and even more crap. This chapter is kind of just a filler to set up for the events that are going to happen. I can think of four major things that are going to happen, but there will probably be more. XD, that's all!

* * *

"You've been at the castle a lot lately," Azel noted as his younger brother walked inside. He had, once again, been to see Kiyotaka, only to arrive at the castle, sit in the king's room enduring a long and tense silence, then excusing himself to leave. Kiyotaka certainly wasn't one for conversation, but that didn't seem to matter. Where others might have required conversation, Eyes enjoyed a bit of quiet peace once in a while.

"Who'd have thought the king would actually _like _Eyes?" Set wondered, patting Eyes on the head, "I mean, he is a brat."

The silver-haired brother brushed the hand away and sighed, "I'm not a brat, and I don't think he's that interested."

"If he weren't interested, he'd ignore you and tell you to leave," Faii spoke up, sitting at the kitchen table with a newspaper, "Like he does to Belial."

Azel looked to Setsuna confused while the blonde just shrugged-- neither of them knew a thing about Belial as Eyes hadn't talked about him. Eyes looked to his eldest brother, tilting his head, "You know about Belial?"

"Of course I do, he's been chasing after Kiyotaka as long as I can remember."

"I keep forgetting you've known Kiyotaka for a while," Eyes admitted. It seemed weird that his brother would know anyone, being asleep as much as he was.

"I'd stay away from him if I were you," Faii warned, closing his eyes, "Or else you'll end up..."

"End up...what?" Eyes wondered, looking up.

"You'll...end up a purple monkey made of cookies." A yawn accompanied this statement and Eyes sighed.

"Fell asleep in the middle of talking again," Set muttered, amused. Azel just shook his head and looked to Eyes.

"He meant stay away from this Belial person?"

Eyes nodded slightly, "I suppose, but I don't see why. Belial's really nice." He blushed faintly just at the memories of the redhead.

"Just ignore him, then," Set suggested, waving a hand, "It's what the rest of us do."

"But Faii wouldn't say something like that unless it was serious," Azel pointed out.

"You don't know that, he could just be messing with him."

"Just because you like to mess with people doesn't mean everyone does."

"But Faii _does_."

Eyes sighed as the bickering continued and made his way out back where the cool night air whipped around him. Just as he was about to shiver, a jacket was dropped over his shoulders. He jumped slightly and looked up, not at all surprised to see the boy that had been occupying his thoughts standing there.

Belial chuckled and tipped his hat, "And how is the lovely Sleeping Beauty tonight?"

_"Sleeping Beauty?" _Eyes thought, _"He couldn't know about that night... could he?" _He then thought to who it was, and realized that he very well could have. As if on cue, a blush formed across his face and he nodded slightly, "I'm alright, and yourself?"

"Fine, as always."

"The rose you gave me," Eyes said after a brief silence, "It's dying. I've tried keeping it in fresh water, but-"

"Water will do it no good,"Belial cut him off, chuckling, "But that is quite interesting, no other rose I've given out has died before."

_"No other he's given out, that means..." _Eyes shook his head, _"Of course, why would I think I was the only one?" _

"Then again, I've never given anyone that specific type." Eyes blinked and looked up, but Belial simply chuckled and shrugged, kissing his cheek, "Like I said, you're a rarity, a one of a kind, you needed a gift to reflect that beauty, no?"

Eyes nodded slightly, "Yes."Another silence fell over them, and Eyes thought long and hard on his next words-- had been thinking about them for quite some time, and he was sure now that he was ready to say them. "Belial?"

"Hm?" The orange-eyed boy tilted his head curiously.

"I...think I love you." Eyes glanced away, blushing furiously, but this time from his own words and not Belial's.

"You think?"

Not the reaction he was expecting, but he nodded nonetheless, "Yes, I mean I do."

Belial studied the silver-haired boy for a moment, and deeming his words honest, he chuckled, "You're very strange."

"I...I suppose so." The blue-eyed boy had yet to look back up since he'd uttered those five words and was in no rush to do so at this point. He hadn't expect Belial to return the gesture, but was no less hurt that he didn't.

Belial finally tilted the pale face up to his and cupped his cheek, "You deserve better than me, so be with Kiyotaka."

Eyes blinked a few times as the words sunk in, "But, don't _you _want to be with him?"

"Of course I do, but I also know I never will and you make him whatever his version of happy is. I love Kiyotaka, but I don't want him to accept me."There wasn't a hint of sadness or disappointment in his voice, just the same comforting tone that he always spoke in.

"And you call me strange," Eyes muttered.

"Because you are, anyone who likes me is."

"Then I don't mind it." Their eyes locked and Eyes silently begged the older boy to agree to be with him, but Belial said nothing more on the subject. Sighing softly, Eyes wrapped his arms around the other boy's neck and rested his head on his shoulder. He closed his eyes as a pair of arms encompassed his waist and a head leaned on his. The breeze that had once caused him to shiver now seemed far away. "You're warm," he mentioned idly.

"I'd hope so," Belial nodded, "I am alive."

Eyes chuckled slightly, "True, but you're comfortable to be around, too." Belial said nothing else, and the two stood there for what felt like forever, wrapped in each other's arms.

---

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"But I don't _want _to."

"What did I tell you before? Being royalty isn't about what you _want _to do."

Kanone sighed and pulled a jacket on, "But Kiyotaka's boring. Just because _you _like him doesn't mean I do."

"You think he's hot," Kai reminded him, "And besides, you two are going to be married, you should at least get to know each other a little better."

"Why? We'll never see each other and why aren't you the one getting hitched again?"

Kai chuckled and patted his son's head, "Because I arranged it, and also because I don't want to be married, but it'll do our kingdoms good."

"I don't care about the public's view, though," Kanone whined, "Get another prince, go get another of your kids to marry him. I'm not even the eldest!"

"Now, now," the older man chided, "You're the best candidate for it and you know it. Naomi wants nothing to do with guys like Kiyotaka and Zefie is too busy treasure hunting to settle down. Besides, you know how women are, always looking for their one, true love."

"Alright, alright," Kanone sighed, "So that leaves my sisters out, but I have two other brothers you know."

"Kale would just kill Kiyotaka, he hates him already as is," Kai reminded him.

"Just because he's obsessed with you and hates anyone you're close to," Kanone shot back, "Naomi's the only one he likes."

"Because she doesn't like me."

Kanone sighed, "And what about Kougaji, huh? Why couldn't he do it?"

"One, he's underage, and two, he's homophobic. I don't think setting him up with a _guy _to get married would do much good."

The brunette hung his head, "What about Kalelle, then? He's nice, sweet, likeable, likes Kiyotaka, and wouldn't mind."

"And is with four other people already and not my son," Kai stated coldly.

Another sigh, "Fine, I give up, not like I was interested in anyone or anything anyway."

Kai chuckled and patted his head, "Good, then. So, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, but won't it take a while to get there?"

"Three days, so we'd better be leaving." At Kanone's nod, the two walked out the palace doors and towards Kiyotaka's kingdom.

---

"So, who are you marrying?" Ayumu wondered, looking over to his brother. The two were sitting in Kiyotaka's room as they often did when no one was around to bother them.

"Kai's taken it upon himself to arrange a marriage for me," the elder brother said, "It seems he thought I wouldn't find a suitor in time."

"He really looks out for you in an overprotective and controlling way, doesn't he?"

"Unfortunately," Kiyotaka agreed, shrugging.

"So... your boyfriend arranged you a marriage to...who?"Ayumu wondered, tilting his head.

"Kanone."

The messy-haired boy sweatdropped, "Why don't you just marry him?"

"He doesn't want to be married after what happened," Kiyotaka said, shrugging again.

"What happened?" the brunette repeated.

Kiyotaka sighed, but began to explain, "The mother of his children died before he had the chance to propose to her. Since then, he's never wanted to be married to anyone."

Ayumu frowned slightly, "Oh." He decided then to change the subject, "You have to get married before your next birthday, right?" Kiyotaka nodded, "Isn't that in less than a week, though?"

"Four days," the king confirmed.

"Mine's coming up soon, too, in a couple weeks," Ayumu remembered.

"And you'll finally be of age so when I die, you can take the throne without question."

"Hey, don't say it like that, you're not going to die for a long time," the younger sibling pouted, "Right?"

Kiyotaka rolled his eyes at his brother's childishness, but then remember he was only a child and had been treated as one most of his life, "Of course."

"No," Ayumu said stubbornly, sitting on the bed next to the ruler and laying his head in his lap, "Promise you won't die."

"I can't promise such a thing and you know it," Kiyotaka said, running a hand idly through the messy brown head of hair, "but I won't if I can help it."

Sighing softly, Ayumu closed his eyes, "I don't know what I'd do if you did," he whispered, "You're all the family I have left, you know." It was incredibly childish, but Ayumu was still a child in many ways. While Kiyotaka normally didn't approve of such behavior, coming from his younger brother, he could deal with it.

"I know," he said, closing his eyes, "but you have to realize that I won't be around forever."

"I know that, I just don't want to lose you yet."

Kiyotaka looked down at his brother, who had curled up to him and fallen asleep with those few last words. He continued to run his fingers through the younger boy's hair, "Then you won't."

* * *

Aw, see? Kiyotaka is a good brother, just like Ayumu said. Just... not when anyone else is around. And poor Kanone, our of all those people, he got stuck with the arranged marriage. And as for his brothers and sisters, don't worry about them, they won't be in the story at all except maybe at the wedding, they were just there for conversation purposes. And Eyes got rejected XD. I know, I shouldn't laugh, but it's funny because Belial would normally never reject anyone. And he didn't _really_, Eyes just took it that way. And in Belial's defense, the stupid kid never asked him out or anything. I'll shut up now, hope you enjoyed! 


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